


Survive Until Sunrise

by anxiousboi_char



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Basically JSE egos but they're in Until Dawn, Gen, Horror, How Do I Tag, M/M, Monsters, Mystery, Winter, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:27:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23859796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anxiousboi_char/pseuds/anxiousboi_char
Summary: Last year, 10 friends visited the cottage. This year, there's only 8 of them to arrive. But how many will get to go back home alive? Because it soon becomes pretty obvious that they are not alone on the mountain and the rough weather conditions stop help from arriving until sunrise. ...But will there be anyone left to be saved by then?Questions are only rising as the night goes on: How to survive? Who can they trust? What happened to the two missing egos a year earlier? Or most importantly, who the hell is the masked person following them around?Who will live? Who will die? Whose true colors will show under so much pressure? Find out by reading!-----------------------Yeah, I put the egos in Until Dawn because I lack creativity at this point.
Relationships: Henrik von Schneeplestein/Chase Brody, Henrik von Schneeplestein/Jacques Septique (past), Jackieboy-Man & Antisepticeye, Jackieboy-man/Jameson Jackson, Jacques Septique/Bingspeticeye, Marvin the Magnificent/Antisepticeye, Sean McLoughlin & Sean McLoughlin, Sean McLoughlin/Sean McLoughlin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9





	1. Prologue

It was long after midnight and what previously was just a fun party in a cottage has now turned into a bunch of old teens and young adults wandering around the house, drunk. Some more, some less, but only two egos were relatively sober. The first one being Robbie, who simply wasn't allowed to drink, and second of all was Shawn. Despite how much Flynn wanted to be blacked out drunk with the others, he took it upon himself to make sure that his most childish friend was safe. And so, they were sitting in the movie room, watching old cartoons as the others were roaming around and doing whatever drunk people do.

Two egos were so drunk that they fell asleep with their heads on the table already. Anti and Jackie, of course. The two always would test who can drink more and just as Jackie's final attempts would result in him passing out, Anti finally remembered that his own body was reacting slower to the alcohol, but soon the effect would kick in with normal strength. And so, after a couple of minutes his head would be resting right by Jackie's one, none of them responsive.

And the others? They were fooling around, some pranking each other, some playing games, and Jacques was making out with Henrik in the background, though they hardly understood each other with their slurred accents. Things were mostly quiet, though, so no one complained. The drunken state of mind even helped some of the shyer egos to relax and have fun with the others. The greatest examples of this behavior were most likely Jameson and Bing, they both were in a silly mood and the only issue was that almost everyone struggled to understand the mute's signing while intoxicated. Nobody minded, though, they thought about it as if it was a game, who can guess faster.

"I'll go make sure that everything is fine, okay?" Shawn said suddenly, getting out of his seat. Robbie nodded and watched his guardian leave the room. Not long after, though, he decided that he wanted to go and make sure that others were fine too! And so, he grabbed the Bendy plushie Shawn gave him sometime earlier and walked off to look for him.

Shawn didn't even want to bother seeing most of the egos and their drunken shenanigans, so after glancing into the room they were all in and noticing most of them still alive, he went to check on Anti and Jackie. Seeing them passed out didn't surprise him too much, but he still went out of his way to get two blankets for them. It was early February after all, they could get cold pretty easily. He didn't move them from their table though, he hoped that maybe they'd finally learn to drink more responsibly if he didn't.

***

Robbie walked into the room with the other egos and looked around. They were all too busy to notice him. Bing and Chase were trying to figure out JJ's signing, Marvin was doing his nails to relax, and Henrik was half-asleep on the sofa with Jacques leaning on him and slurring something in French. Not knowing where Shawn was, he walked over to the next person he trusted the most. To Henrik. He gently pulled on the man's sleeve.

"...Hen?" he asked. The German looked at him and tried to sit up.

"Yes...?" he slurred drunkenly.

"...Can you help me find Shawn?" Robbie asked. Henrik nodded and moved a bit to get up, but Jacques pushed him back down gently.

" _Non_. He's busy," the French man answered.

"But..." Robbie muttered. He was getting worried, so he held his plushie closer. And at that exact moment, in Jacques' drunken mind an idea appeared, and without hesitation, he grabbed the plushie and took it away. "Hey! That's my Bendy...!" Robbie gasped, reaching for the plushie.

"And that's mine _petit ami_!" Jacques answered, throwing the plushie towards JJ. The mute caught it somehow and looked down at it, confused.

"Here! Jamie! Throw it here!" Chase immediately shot up, stumbling back to give him more space. And soon enough, the Bendy toy was in his hands. He giggled as Robbie tried to walk over to him. "Bing! Catch!"

The toy flew over Robbie's head and landed in Bing's hands, who figured that the idea of the game was fun and soon enough threw it away as well. Jacques got off the couch so he could catch it again and soon enough the four of them were throwing it around as Robbie desperately tried to get it back.

"Marvin, here!" Chase laughed, throwing the plushie the man's way. He caught it too, but only sighed as he walked over to Robbie and gave it back.

"Here," he smiled, handing it back.

"Thanks!" Robbie smiled hesitantly as he held the toy close again. Marvin stepped back.

"Don't spoil our fun!" Jacques slurred and before anyone knew, he snatched the toy again, quickly tossing it to Henrik. The German didn't catch it at first, but quickly picked it up and looked it over.

"Give it back!" Robbie begged, running over and trying to rip it out of Henrik's grip.

"Here! Throw it here!" Chase waved, showing that he's ready to catch it.

Henrik was hesitant for a moment, he wasn't sure if he should take part in this innocent game or act as mature as Marvin and give the toy back. He eventually decided to do what most of the others were doing and he tried to throw it away. Only, he somehow forgot that Robbie was holding the toy too and the hard swing he took was enough to rip it in two-

***

Shawn got himself a glass of water and drank it peacefully, ignoring the loud behavior of the other drunk egos. He was looking out the window, trying to see anything interesting outside. Well, all he could see was darkness and snow. He was relaxed until he noticed a weird shape. It looked almost as if it was a human watching the house from between the trees. He frowned as he took another sip of water only to choke on it as the figure moved, disappearing in the darkness.

"What the hell?!" he hissed. "Anti, you said it would only be us this weekend!" he stepped back and looked over to the table. "Anti! Come on, answer me!" he demanded. 

He walked over and tried to shake him awake. It didn't work, obviously. And just then, when Shawn glanced up, he saw something run past the window. Yet, it clearly wasn't the silhouette he saw before. No, this looked almost like...

"Robbie?! What the hell's going on?!" he gasped, leaving Anti and running towards the main door, grabbing his coat on the way.

When he arrived, all the others were already outside, standing just by the door and looking around, calling out Robbie's name. Shawn rushed over and took a quick glance to check if the youngest ego was somehow still around. When he couldn't spot his lavender hair anywhere between the trees, he turned to face the others.

"What's going on? Where's Robbie going?" he asked. Jacques was the first one to answer, shaking his head dismissively.

"It's fine, he just can't take a joke," the painter announced, barely not understandable with how strong his accent was when powered by drunkenness. This answer obviously didn't satisfy Shawn.

"What did you do?" he demanded firmly, eyeing each and one ego.

"It wasn't serious, Shawn, we were just playing around..." Henrik assured, taking his boyfriend's side. That's when the man noticed two pieces of Bendy doll in his hand. He immediately snatched it and looked it over, recognizing it as the one Robbie had before. Everything quickly made sense.

"You jerks!" he hissed, turning away and starting to run through the forest. "Robbie! ROBBIE!" he called out, making his way through the snow.

"...Should we go after him?" Henrik asked eventually. Marvin glared at him.

"Yeah, because both of them want to see you right now," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Meanwhile, Shawn kept running, no longer calling Robbie's name. He was running as fast as he could, holding the two pieces of the plushie in his hands as he did his best to navigate through the forest. All he had were footprints, which he desperately tried to follow. Eventually, when his mind became a bit more clear, he put the plushie away into his coat's pocket and pulled out a phone. He didn't like it when Chase first bought it for him, but now he was grateful he could use it as a flashlight.

"...Robbie? Goddamnit, where are you?!" he called out, slowing down a bit to catch his breath. And just then, he could've sworn he saw flames between the trees not far from himself. "...What the hell was that?!" he hissed, speeding up again. No way he'd leave Robbie outside when this was happening.

He kept pushing through, following the footsteps, and keeping an eye out for the fire. Though it didn't appear again, so did he imagine it before? He surely hoped so, he wasn't in the mood to deal with that kind of thing when Robbie was still lost somewhere in the darkness, probably freezing already. And then, he finally saw him.

"Robbie...? Robbie!" he gasped, rushing over. The youngest ego was kneeling in the snow, shaking and sobbing uncontrollably. He turned around, once he heard the familiar voice.

"...Sh-Shawn...?" he asked quietly. The man immediately rushed over, taking off his coat and giving it to the other ego.

"Robbie! Oh God, you must be freezing... Here, take this," he muttered while making sure that the clothing would now cover him from the snow.

"I'm sorryyy..." Robbie sobbed while the man tried to get him off the ground. "I- I-"

"No, no, it's okay Robbie. Come on, we'll fix Bendy when we get back home, okay?" Shawn assured, pulling him closer to hug him. Robbie kept sobbing as he hid in his arms, nodding shyly. And just then, both of them heard a branch snap not far from them. Too loudly to assume that it was because of the wind. "...Robbie?" Shawn asked quietly, unsure if he heard it right.

"Shawn...?" Robbie asked, his voice revealing that he heard it too.

They slowly pulled away from the embrace to both look in the direction the sound came from. Did the others follow them here? And just then, they saw the shape of something... inhuman lurking between the trees. Both of them gasped and, without even thinking about it, made a sharp turn and tried to run. They could hear the thing chasing them, so they didn't even bother being quiet. They saw a small shack-like building missing two walls, making it possible to simply run through it and that's exactly what they did, hoping that whatever was chasing them would refuse to go through for some reason. And just then, Robbie tripped.

"Robbie!" Shawn cried out, running back inside to help him up. While doing so, he dropped his phone and could only watch as it fell into one of the huge holes in the floor. But he couldn't care less, he had his life on the line now.

Holding Robbie tightly, he continued to run, doing his best to stay relatively calm while the thing kept chasing them. And just then, he suddenly had to stop. It was hard to see what was in front of them, but it was now clear that they accidentally ran towards a high cliff. They were between the edge and whatever was chasing them with no way to escape. They turned around to look at what was after them. And while Robbie kept stumbling back, Shawn tried to stand his ground.

"Get back!" he yelled, trying to hide the fear in his voice. "Get the fuck away!" he repeated louder.

When he felt a sudden pull he could already guess that Robbie took one step too much and had just slipped, dragging both of them down the cliff. His grip on the other's hand tightened, but he couldn't do anything to stop them from falling. Yet he immediately managed to catch a root growing on the side of the cliff.

"Shawn...!" Robbie sobbed, terrified. If he looked down he could tell that he was held over a huge drop with nothing to save him, nothing to do. And Shawn? Shawn had to hold on to the root with one hand while holding Robbie up with the other one and he didn't know how long would he be able to last.

"Hold on!" he cried out, trying to pull himself up. "Hold on, Robbie!"

Suddenly, a bright fire appeared right where they were standing before, along with a blood-curdling screech coming from over the ledge. And a moment later, a humanoid silhouette looked down at them, and, as soon as it saw them, it reached down, trying to grab Shawn's hand. What was it doing?! Trying to help them? Or to push them off? What was that thing?!

Shawn locked eyes with the stranger, thinking of what he should do. Their hand was so close and yet so far, but if he'd let go of Robbie, he would most likely reach it... He could feel his hands losing grip, he knew he'd fall soon and in that short moment, he made his decision.

"...Robbie? Brace yourself!" he yelled, letting go of the root. He would _not_ let Robbie fall alone. If they were going down, they'd go down together.

The fall was short, but it felt like an eternity. Robbie's hand slipped out of Shawn's grip as they both slowly got closer and closer to the ground. Shawn closed his eyes and tried to be ready for the pain, but... nothing could prepare him for what he was about to experience. His back suddenly met with a cold, hard rock and with the audible snap, he felt something break in his spine. And as if it wasn't enough, he then rolled down over other stones, slowly losing his grip on reality as the pain was becoming sharper, his vision more blurred, his hearing more distant... until it finally stopped. 

...Not that he felt anything after that, though...


	2. The Grand Return

Marvin's head rested against the window as he watched the surroundings outside the bus change. The city quickly turned into empty fields, then into a thick forest, all while the sun was slowly disappearing over the horizon. He couldn't believe he was coming back after what happened last year. Shawn, Robbie... both missing until now. Despite how drunk he was that night, he still remembered it all too clearly...

But the others decided to return. They figured that that's what the missing two would want in the end, see their group still together. No matter how much they blamed themselves and each other. He figured, why not? They should be there for each other. It was the anniversary of that night and being alone didn't seem like a good idea. Maybe they'd all just meet up, relax, and _stay sober_ for once.

Eventually, the bus came to a stop, so Marvin picked up his bag and left it. He was greeted by the same sign saying "Welcome to the Septic Mountain", as broken as it always was. They probably should replace it soon, otherwise, it would break completely. And as he headed into the forest and the bus took off again, he didn't even turn around. And maybe it was for the better? Otherwise, he'd see someone on the other side of the road, holding a machete and watching him.

Instead, he just headed forward, listening to the sound the snow was making with each step he took. He liked that sound. He could hear a couple of sticks crack around him, but he assumed that those were only animals. Eventually, he made it over to a huge, iron gate. He tried to push it open, but it wouldn't budge. Only then, he saw a small note attached to it. He curiously took it and read it out loud.

"...The gate's busted. Climb over. Signed, Jackie," he read out loud. "What?!" he sighed, looking the gate over. "Damnit," he muttered, stepping away.

Instead of deciding to climb the gate itself, he walked over to the rock wall connected to it. It would be just like rock climbing, one of his many hobbies, so it shouldn't be too hard, right? Well, just as he thought, he easily made it across. The only thing slightly upsetting him was the amount of snow lying over the wall, it made it very cold and slippery and the last thing he wanted now was a broken leg. But soon enough, he was walking again, on the other side this time.

Suddenly, he could hear a branch snap somewhere near. He stopped in his tracks and looked to his side, trying to see whatever caused it despite the darkness surrounding him. Eventually, a smile appeared on his face as he watched a little squirrel waddle in front of him. He quickly reached to his pocket and pulled out a couple of nuts he had left after eating most of them as a snack on his way to the mountain. Then, despite being upset over snow a second before, he knelt down and held them out for the animal to take.

"Hey, little fella. You hungry?" he chuckled as he watched the animal slowly approach. Eventually, it took the nuts off his hand before trotting away. "There you go..." he waved goodbye to the squirrel and continued on his way.

Soon enough, he reached the cable car station, where he hoped to catch Jackie. The cable cars were rarely coming, so there was a chance that his friend was still somewhere around, waiting for one to arrive. He looked around but failed to see anybody closeby, so he assumed that he was late. But when he tried to get into the station itself, he realized that the door was locked.

"...What the...? Jackie? Are you inside?" he asked, fidgeting with the doorknob for a moment before backing away. "Weird," he muttered.

He started walking around the station, hoping to either find Jackie or a way inside. There was no way in hell he'd be walking up the mountain, it was too big and there was too much snow, he'd most likely trip and fall. Eventually, he noticed Jackie's bag lying on one of the nearby benches. He carefully walked over and looked around.

"...Jackie? Not in the bag, are you? Come on, I'm the magician here," he chuckled, but received no answer. And just then, he noticed his friend's phone sticking out of the bag, buzzing. Immediately, a mischievous grin appeared on his face. "Hello. What do we have here?" he muttered, reaching for it and trying to unlock it.

"I don't know, you tell me," someone behind him said, making Marvin jump and almost drop the phone before he could take a better look at the screen. He swiftly turned around and saw...

"Jackie! God, you scared me!" he hissed, fixing up his coat. His friend stood in front of him, chuckling slightly.

"I'm sorry, are you my secretary?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"...Well, it was buzzing..." Marvin tried to excuse himself and he held the phone out to show Jackie. The other man quickly snatched it.

"Cool. I can take it from here," he answered, looking at the screen and quicky typing something in, presumably messaging someone back. Marvin watched him with his arms crossed, trying to look over his shoulder.

"So, what is it?" he asked. Jackie smiled at him and made a long pause, looking for the best and most superior answer he could possibly give...

"Uhh... Yes," he answered, putting the phone back in his bag, much to Marvin's disappointment. "Now come on, I've found something really cool!" he said, quickly changing his mood. Now, this caught Marvin's interest almost as much as the mysterious message.

"What is it?" he asked curiously.

"I can't tell you, you've gotta see it yourself," he grinned, taking his back and starting to walk around the building. Without hesitation, Marvin followed.

There was almost no light on that side of the building, which made it harder to navigate, but Jackie obviously knew the way. Both of them stayed silent while walking, listening to the sound of snow crunching under their feet. There was a lot of it on the ground, probably more than the year before... their feet were almost sinking in it as they tried to walk. But eventually, they got to the back of the building and now Marvin could see what Jackie found so interesting.

"Ta-Dah! Pretty rad, right?" he cheered, watching Marvin to see his reaction.

"Yeah..." he nodded hesitantly. "But... what is a shooting range doing here?" he asked. Jackie shrugged, picking up a gun that lied there, seemingly unsupervised.

"I dunno. But it's fun! Here, wanna try?" he offered, holding the gun out for Marvin to take.

"Uh... No, thanks," he answered quietly, moving away. Jackie shrugged, pulling the gun closer to himself and looking for something to shoot at. There were many cans scattered around, so that's what he aimed at.

"Your loss," he said, pulling the trigger and firing the gun. He hit one of the cans first try, so he decided to keep pushing his luck and take a couple more shots.

"Jackie! Keep it down! What if someone just hears a random gun going off!" Marvin hissed, reminding his friend that they weren't the only ones around.

"Oh. Yeah... Just one more shot? Please? It's really fun!" Jackie begged, making Marvin sigh.

"...Fine. But hurry up. I don't want to miss our ride," he agreed reluctantly. 

"Yes!" Jackie cheered, before aiming the gun around, picking the last target to fire at. And just then, a squirrel came out from between the trees, quickly approaching one of the knocked-over cans. A small grin appeared on Jackie's face...

"No! Don't shoot it!" Marvin hissed, grabbing the gun and trying to point it away from the animal. It fired, but luckily missed by at least 5 feet. The squirrel quickly ran away upon hearing the loud sound.

"Marvin! Chill out, I wasn't going to! I just thought it was cute," Jackie explained himself, carefully setting the gun down after making sure that it wasn't loaded anymore.

"...Oh. Sorry," Marvin sighed, rubbing his head. "I'm just... a little bit on edge lately..." he muttered. Jackie nodded in understatement.

"Of course, I get it. I think we all are... but hey, that's why we're here today. To help each other," he said, trying to comfort his friend a bit. "Come on now, I think the cable car's here," he pointed out, starting to head back to the front building after making sure that Marvin's following.

"...Thanks," he muttered, while walking behind him.

They quickly got to the front and Jackie pulled out a key, opening the door Marvin struggled against at first. It was weird that it was locked, but he decided not to question it. And just like Jackie assumed before, the cable car was already there and they barely managed to get into it before it took off. Inside, they both took off their coats and sat down, watching the beautiful view they had through the windows of their ride.

"...Do you think it was a good idea?" Marvin asked eventually, getting Jackie's attention.

"What was a good idea?" he asked, receiving a shrug as an answer.

"You know... coming back here? On the anniversary?" his friend muttered, still looking out the window. Jackie shook his head.

"Yeah, it was. Now we can help each other out! And no one's left out," he answered. Marvin hesitantly nodded.

"Sure... I guess. And... did you hear from Anti? I think he was pretty close to Sh- to _them_ , so..." he asked, refusing to actually use the names of the egos they lost the year before.

"Yeah, he's doing better. I mean, he came up with coming here again, right? So that's... something," Jackie answered. Marvin looked at him for a moment. He couldn't believe that this small detail escaped his memory already.

"Yeah, who would've thought... _Anti_ actually asking us to be there for him?" he muttered quietly. A heavy silence filled the cable car for a moment before Jackie clapped his hands eventually.

"Anyway! Let's stop talking about that and find something more fun, okay? Did I tell you that I recently took some parkour classes? It was sick! I had to quit after a month or so, but it was cool anyway!" he changed the topic, making his friend smile with his enthusiasm.

"Really now? And how did it go? Did you break something?" he chuckled, watching Jackie nervously look around.

"No! Of course not! Who do you think I am! ...Well, maybe my nose, but it's not really a bone, right? No way of wearing a cool cast, so..." he tried to hide the truth.

"Sure, Jackie..." Marvin shook his head. "And why did you quit if it was so fun?"

"Well, I kind of broke my leg too...?" his friend laughed nervously. "But it's all good now! And to be clear, it happened outside of the class, so I didn't break it by going there!"

"Yeah, yeah, sure..." Marvin chuckled.

Meanwhile, where their cable car was heading, someone was waiting. On a bench near the station, Chase was playing around on his phone. Well, he didn't have the internet connection anymore, but he still had some fun offline games downloaded, so he didn't mind it that much. And by his side, there was a letter he _might or might not have_ written for someone very special to him.

Once he finally heard a cable car approaching and someone leaving it, he jumped up and grabbed the said letter. It possibly could've been the one it was written for, after all! But when for two minutes no one left the small building, he grew concerned. Did he leave the door open, or just left someone locked inside...? Uh-oh. He carefully walked over and would've just opened it if not the fact that as soon as he approached, someone hit the door and made him fall back.

"Chase! Here!" a familiar voice called from inside and as soon as he approached again, he could see Jackie's head pressed against the glass.

"...Are you having a weird stroke?" he asked, making Jackie back away from the window in the door in embarrassment. And now it was visible that Marvin was inside too.

"No, we're stuck. Can you open the door? Pretty please?" Marv asked, approaching the door. Chase pretended to hesitate before taking out a key and turning it in the lock, opening the door and stepping back to let the two leave.

"Thank GOD! I thought we were going to stay in there for EVER! I was just about to offer my leg to be added to the food supplies!" Jackie exclaimed dramatically, walking through the door with Marvin following close behind.

"Very funny," Chase sighed, but couldn't help but chuckle. And just then, when his guard was a bit down, Jackie snatched the letter from his hands with a grin.

"And what do we have here?" he chuckled, peeking inside.

"Jackie!" Marvin crossed his arms, but his friend unfolded the letter and started reading it. Yet soon enough, his face turned bright red and he handed it back to Chase.

"Sorry..." he muttered.

"That's what I thought," Chase shook his head, folding the letter again. 

"What was that about?" Marvin asked, giving in to curiosity. Chase seemed hesitant to answer, but a small smile appeared on his face.

"Well... since Jackie knows already, I guess I can tell you too... So. I and Henrik are... kind of... a thing now?" he explained, visibly excited over the news. Marvin seemed happy for the two, but Jackie finally collected himself and managed to ask a question he had on his mind since starting to read.

"And what about Jacques...?" he asked hesitantly. 

"Didn't you hear? Henrik and he broke up almost a year ago," Marvin explained. "Or were you too busy breaking your bones to notice?" he teased.

"Wait, Jackie broke something?" Chase asked curiously. "That would explain why we didn't see him for, like, a month..."

"I guess a lot just happens!" Jackie shrugged.

"Sure, sure... But we should start heading to the cottage I think. Chase, do you want to come with us?" Marvin offered, swiftly changing the subject.

"Nah, thanks, dude. I'm still waiting for Hen to arrive. I hope I didn't miss him..." he answered, looking around.

"Alright then, good luck. We'll be on our way then. Right, Marv?" Jackie nodded and turned only to find Marvin looking at the breathtaking view on the side of the mountain. "Uh... Marvin?"

"Do you _see this_ , Jackie?" his friend answered in amazement. Chase chuckled and patted Jackie's shoulder.

"Good luck to _you_ , my dude," he said, walking back to his bench and leaving Jackie alone to the task of convincing Marvin to go.


	3. Snow and Darkness all around

Bing gently pushed the gate open, holding two bags in his other hand. It opened with a creak and pushed some of the snow out of the way. The small pile of it next to the fence indicated that they weren't the first ones there. He walked through first and set the bags down on the ground so he could carry one in each of his hands. Behind him, Jacques followed through the gate, carrying just one, small bag, but acting more exhausted than the android was.

"Why couldn't they built the lodge closer to the cable car...?" he groaned tiredly. Bing shrugged.

"I guess the view there is prettier," he assumed, smiling slightly while recalling the beautiful surroundings of the cottage.

"...Sure," Jacques sighed, stopping to wait for Bing to pick up the bags again. Only then they both continued up the mountain. 

The wind was howling loudly and the snow was almost blinding the two of them, especially mixed with the darkness surrounding them, but they still managed to make sure that they were staying on the right track. And every once in a while they would even see footsteps of the egos that must've arrived before them, even if the snow already covered most of them. After a couple of minutes of walking in silence, Jacques shivered.

"Well, I'm getting chills..." he muttered in a complaining tone, catching Bing's attention.

"We're almost there. But if you want me to, I can give you my jacket?" he offered almost immediately. Jacques chuckled slightly.

"I don't need it, _petit ami_ ," he answered, shaking his head. "I'm saying that this place is looking... ominous," he explained.

"Oh," Bing nodded. "Yeah, the atmosphere is rather heavy, but..." he didn't get to finish, though, because he stopped talking as soon as he heard a nearby branch snap. Jacques stopped in his tracks too before turning to look at him.

"...Did you hear that?" he asked quietly, receiving a small nod as an answer.

After a moment of not hearing anything anymore, Bing took a couple of steps forward, catching up with his boyfriend. As soon as he did, another branch snapped, this time closer to them. They both nervously tried to see whatever was approaching them. And then, loud footsteps appeared, heading their way. Jacques jumped back with a shriek while Bing dropped the bags and got into a defensive position when... a familiar face appeared.

" _Mon Dieu!_ " Jacques gasped before finally recognizing the person. "Henrik! What do you think you're doing?!" he huffed, crossing his arms and acting as if he didn't scream a moment earlier. The German man shook his head.

"...Walking?" he said with a small smile. His accent was thicker than they remembered it to be, but it was no surprise with the fact that he went away to spend some time in Germany after what happened a year before. "The snow is nice."

"And you just happen to scare us?! You're an idiot, Henrik," Jacques growled angrily, but the other man just rolled his eyes.

"No need to call me names..." he answered. Just then, Bing decided that he should step in before things would escalate. 

"Henrik. I get it, you feel great up here. But we're... a bit on edge. So could you please not do that again and warn us if you're approaching?" he said, trying to sound as polite as he could while still recovering from the shock. "We would really appreciate it," he added, stepping closer to Jacques. Henrik nodded in understanding.

"Alright," he agreed with a small sigh. Jacques rolled his eyes, but let Bing do the rest of the talking.

"I'm glad that that's resolved, then. Thank you," the android smiled slightly.

"Sure, you're welcome. I better get going, I wouldn't want to scare you again," Henrik grinned slightly, walking in the opposite direction he should be heading if he was on his way to the lodge. They didn't want to question that, though.

"You got a bit defensive here, didn't you, _mon amour_?" Jacques said when he assumed that Henrik was far enough.

"I did?" Bing asked, slightly surprised. "I'm sorry, I was trying to be sincere, I-" he tried to explain, but Jacques just shook his head.

"Don't worry, you look charming when you get like that," he said with a grin. Bing smiled shyly.

"O-oh! Thank you," he answered. Suddenly, Jacques' expression shifted and he swore quietly. "What's wrong?" Bing asked immediately.

"Uh... could you take all these the rest of the way?" he answered, awkwardly pointing to the bags. Bing tilted his head.

"The bags? Why?" he asked. Jacques rubbed the back of his head.

"Well... I need to find Marvin. I promised to talk to him..." he answered with a bit of hesitation.

"Are you sure that it can't wait? We're almost there..." Bing pointed out, looking up the mountain. He could almost see the lights coming from their destination.

"Yes, I'm sure! It's important, Bing! Please..." Jacques pleaded. With a small sigh, Bing nodded and went to pick up the bags he was holding this far before taking the one his boyfriend was carrying.

"Okay, if it's important for you, then go. I'll take these. Just be careful, alright? The way down could be a bit... slippery," he said with concern. Jacques nodded and kissed his cheek while handing him the bag.

"See you up there, _mon chéri_ ," he waved goodbye before starting to head down. Bing just nodded before turning and continuing up the mountain.

After some time, he was relatively close to the lodge when he noticed someone else nearby. It didn't take long to realize that it was Jameson, looking through binoculars and presumably trying to watch wildlife. He hesitated for a moment before setting down the bags again, making sure that Jacques' one was sitting on top of his own so it wouldn't get wet from the snow, and heading towards his friend.

As he continued to approach, he found it surprising that he wasn't noticed yet. He really wasn't being too quiet and it wasn't his intention to sneak over, but somehow his footsteps were still undetected. He kind of understood why Henrik could've scared them on an accident before... But whatever Jameson was looking at through the binoculars must've been really interesting. Finally, he decided that he was close enough to start a conversation.

"Hello, Jameson!" he greeted with a bright smile. JJ jumped in fright and stumbled back, putting his hand over his chest before recognizing Bing and shaking his head in disapproval.

{Why on earth did you do that?!} he signed with a frown. Bing chuckled slightly at his reaction before glancing down.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was sure that you'd hear me coming with all the crunching of the snow..." he excused himself. Jameson kept an angry expression for just a moment before he shook his head.

{It's alright, just don't do that again.} he signed and Bing nodded.

"Yeah, of course. I'm sorry," he answered, quickly realizing that this was going almost exactly like the conversation he just had and deciding to change the topic. "So, what are you looking at?" he asked, pointing to the binoculars. Jameson immediately became tense.

{Nothing interesting! I mean...} he signed nervously, making Bing intrigued more than anything.

"Can I check it out?" he asked. JJ hesitated before nodding in defeat.

{If you really want to...} he answered.

With a small smile, Bing leaned over and took a look around. At first, he could only see snow and trees, but eventually, there was something else. Someone else. It was Jacques and Henrik, hugging each other and talking about something. It was a long, heartfelt embrace that both of them seemed to enjoy a lot. As soon as Bing saw that, he froze and just stared. It was probably just a couple of seconds before he pulled away when he felt Jameson's hand on his shoulder, but it felt like an eternity.

"Wh- Seriosuly, Jacques?" Bing asked softly, obviously trying to hide whatever emotions he was feeling, but failing.

{...I'm really sorry, Bing...} JJ signed once he got to see his very saddened expression.

"I-it's alright... I'm sure it's just a... misunderstanding," he answered quietly, trying to convince himself with this statement as well. Not wanting to stay there for too long, he stepped away from the binoculars. "...He said he was going to talk to Marv..." he muttered quietly while walking.

Jameson simply followed him, wanting to help him and cheer him up but not sure how to. Maybe it really was just a misunderstanding? He really hoped so, because it didn't look good and Bing seemed really happy with Jacques so far...

A couple of minutes after that, both Bing and JJ were already by the lodge, but no one else was there yet. Unluckily, that included Anti, who had the keys, so they were stuck outside in the darkness, coldness, and snow. Meanwhile, Chase was still waiting by the cable car, seriously starting to wonder if he somehow missed Henrik. It would make sense considering that they somehow didn't see each other yet. He got up and was just about to head up the mountain when he heard the snow crunching under somebody's feet.

A smile appeared on Chase's face as he quickly ducked to hide just out of sight. He always loved to pay attention to the details, so it wasn't too surprising that he could already tell that it was his boyfriend approaching. There was just something about the way he walked, Chase always knew it was him long before they could see each other. With a smirk, he carefully picked up some snow and formed a snowball, waiting for Henrik to come into view. And as soon as it happened...

"Chase? Are you h- Ah! What the _Scheiße_?!" Henrik cursed, jumping as soon as the snowball hit his face. He stumbled for a bit before finally falling. Chase left his hiding spot, laughing loudly.

"You should've seen your face, Hen-" he tried to say, but before he could finish, Henrik used the fact that he was now on the ground to his advantage and threw a snowball of his own. After realizing what happened, Chase laughed again. "You did _not_ just do that," he shook his head. Henrik got off the ground and got the snow off of his coat.

"Do you really want to play with snow now?" he asked, most likely ready to show Chase that he had just as good aim. And Chase was about to confirm by throwing another snowball, but he suddenly realized just how cold he was _without_ even more snow on him.

"Well... I _guess_ we should head to the lodge..." he said, looking around. "But it's so pretty out here... just cold," he sighed. Henrik just rolled his eyes at the last part. He was used to those kinds of temperatures. However, he tried to be understanding.

"Do you want my coat?" he offered, taking it off and making sure that almost no snow was still on it. Chase smiled and took it off his hands.

"Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks," he answered, putting it on. Henrik just nodded and waited for Chase to get cozy. "When did you arrive? I was hoping to catch you up here..."

"Around 4 pm, maybe?" Henrik answered simply. Chase sighed.

"A shame you didn't call me, I'd try to get here faster too," he muttered.

"I tried to. There is just no connection up here and I didn't want to go back down, it's a long ride," Henrik explained. Chase almost facepalmed himself when he remembered that this was the exact reason he didn't call Henrik when he got up there on his own.

"Oh! Yeah, right! Makes sense..." he nodded energetically. Henrik turned for a moment to look in the direction the lodge was.

"Should we go now?" he asked, ready to walk up the mountain again. Chase almost agreed, but remembered something in the last second.

"In a moment, alright? I've got something for you!" he answered, quickly going to the bench he was just on and taking the letter he wrote for him. "Here!" he held it out with a grin. Henrik carefully took it.

"What is it?" he asked, looking the paper over without opening it.

"...Just read it, alright? Here, I'll use my phone's flashlight!" Chase decided, quickly pulling it out and lighting their surroundings just a moment later.

"Alright..." Henrik nodded, unfolding the letter and starting to read it. The further he got, the redder Chase's face was getting, and the cold wasn't the reason here. Eventually he looked up from the paper with a warm smile.

"...And? How do you like it?" Chase asked hesitantly. Henrik just pulled him over and kissed his forehead.

"It was amazing, Chase. Thank you," he answered after pulling away. He carefully put the letter away into his bag. His boyfriend was obviously proud of himself.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it!" Chase said. "Do you want me to carry your bag or something?" he offered after a moment of silence. Henrik shook his head.

"No, thank you. But let's get moving, the others are probably inside already," he answered, wrapping an arm around Chase and making him start to walk.

"Yeah... and being inside sounds really nice now..." he nodded, leaning against Henrik slightly as they both walked.

Well, maybe they were wrong about the others entering the lodge already, but it was good that they moved anyway. Otherwise, they would most likely notice that the next cable car coming up wasn't exactly empty, even though all 8 of them were already up there. No, someone **else** was soon about to join them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, Jacques and Bing were certainly not a pairing I thought of while selecting who is who, but I honestly kind of see it? At least with the way I write them? Anyway, thank you all for reading and I'm sorry for slow updates!


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